Dyspraxia awareness week 25th September 2007 - September 18, 2007

The term Dyspraxia  is derived from Greek - “dys” meaning difficulty and “praxis” meaning action.  Children with Dyspraxia have difficulty with aspects of physical coordination which can affect learning and social interaction in a number of ways.

Dyspraxia is often a “hidden” disability within the classroom, because it primarily affects non-verbal skills.  Children may have a good verbal vocabulary and average or above average intelligence but have difficulty translating thoughts into actions.    This can affect coordination at P.E., writing (dependent on hand-eye coordination) and social skills.  Social skills can be affected because up to 90% of communication is based on body language - the non verbal features of language - children who are have poor control of their own bodies often have difficulty in “reading” the body language of others and modifying their own response to the situation.  Examples are a tendency to over-react, stand too close, not know when to “back off” and generally appear awkward.

 For more information about how NDD can play a part in Dyspraxia see www.inpp.org.uk/NDD/learningdifficulties/dyspraxia.

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Dyspraxia awareness week 25th September - 1st October - September 12, 2007

The Dyspraxia Foundation  has announced  a Dyspraxia awareness week later this month to spread awareness of the impact of Dyspraxia in the school environment.

One of their initiatives is a call for schools to offer more varied physical education programmes to include the increasing number of children with learning and behavioural conditions.  Our experience at INPP  is that problems in fitting children with Dyspraxia into the PE curriculum is only one small part of the problem children and their families experience as a result of the paucity of information given to teachers about the effects of Dyspraxia in the classroom.

Problems with coordination can affect the ability to sit still in class,  posture and muscle tone needed for sustained writing and copying and also the eye movements needed for reading and catching a ball.  They can also affect peer relationships, because up to 90% of communication is based on the non-verbal aspects of language - posture, gesture, eye contact and tone of voice - children who have poor control of coordination often have difficulty in reading  the body language of others and adjusting their behaviour to the needs of the moment.    This can make them seem socially awkward and an easy target for teasing in the playground.

INPP works with children with Dyspraxia at two levels:

1. Clinical programme following an initial consultation and 2 - 3 hour assessment, using exercises tailored to the individual profile of the child.

2. A schools based programme administered by teachers who have attended an INPP one day training session in the use of a class based programme of developmental exercises used with all children over the course of one academic year.  This programme is not exclusively designed for children with Dyspraxia but published results* have shown that children in the exercise groups make statistically significant improvements in measures of balance, coordination and reflexes compared to comparison groups.

Further information on both INPP programmes and Dyspraxia can be found on the clinical/training/research/learning difficulty/ sections of the website.

*Releasing educational potential through movement.  Published in Child Care in Practive 11/4:415-432. 2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

Information about Dyspraxia can be found on the INPP website under “Learning Difficulties”

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Programme for Pisa Conference 22nd and 23rd September 2007 - September 11, 2007

Saturday, 22nd September

09.00 - 10.00  Registration and Welcome

In memoriam for Carl Delacato - Dr Peter Blythe. Founder of The Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology.

10.00 - 11.00  “Learning to move and moving to learn”

Physical development and engagement - the foundations for learning success.

Sally Goddard Blythe. Director of The Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology International.

11.00 - 11.30  Coffee break

11.30 - 12. 30  “Development and function of the balance system in the early years”.

Professor Alain Berthoz

12.30 - 13.00  Question and answer session

13.00 - 14.30  Lunch

14.30 - 1600  “Advanced tools for EEG assessments and their application for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes”

Dr Juri Kropotov and Dr Curtis Cripe

16.00 16.30  Coffee break

16.30 - 17.30  “Perspectives on movement, movement intervention and remediation including bilateral integration exercises - a developmentally based movement programme - lecture and demonstration”

Sheila Dobie and Andy Dalziell

17.30 1800 Question and answer session

20.00 - 23.00  Conference Dinner

Sunday, 23rd September

09.30 - 11.00  “Biomedical testing options for learning difficulties”

Dr Anne Catherine Faegerman. Nordic Laboratories

11.00 - 11.30  Coffee break

11.30 -12.30  “Intending to be conscious:  How infants’ movements are planned and how they engage.

Professor Colwyn Trevarthen

12.30 13.00  Question and answer session

13.00 - 14.30  Lunch

14.30 -15.00  “Musica medica method in education”

Professor Yair Schiftan and Professor Stadnicki

15.00 - 15.30  “The listening ability in the learning process”

Jordi Galceran - Auditiva

15.30 -16.00  Pilot study.  Possible effects on language of Specific Auditory Stimulation using Johansen Sound Therapy

Win de Zwart and Jac Beelan

16.00 - 17.00  “Ready, steady, go!” A fun movement programme to develop young children’s learning”

Celia O’Donovan and Pat Preedy

17.00 - 17.15  Closing session

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Daily Telegraph Open Letter 9.9.07 -

As one of the signatories to the open letter published in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph entitled “Let the Children Play”, I would like to point out that loss of play is only one facet of the problems and changes we are witnessing in modern childhood. 

Development is the product of both nature and nurture, of the genetic make-up we are born with, the pre-conceptual  and birth environment as well as the environment in which we live.  Childrens’ future is being changed in subtle ways even before they are conceived:  Factors affecting motherhood, such as the delaying of parenthood, long term use of oral contraceptives, increased exposure to sexually transmitted diseases and increasing reliance on IVF, can all affect not only the physical well being of the child but also the development of the central nervous system, which will govern the inner world of the child for the whole of its life; one “hidden” factor in the rise in obesity amongst children may be linked to the relatively low uptake of breast feeding in the UK compared with other European countries.  Because breast feeding is not a “marketable” commodity  at a time when image and branding play a large part in promoting the success of business, mothers are often unaware of the natural advantages breastfeeding provides for both mother and child.  The need to return to work and a lack of ongoing support for new mothers struggling to establish breast feeding are also factors.

Education begins with physical interaction and social engagement.  In this sense, mother, closely followed by father are the first teachers in life and social skills.  There is no substitute for physical time spent together in shared experience, play and conversation -conversation begins long before a child learns to talk - through  eye contact, touch, alteration in the rhythm and speed of movements, cooing and babbling.  The seeds of language are sown through sensory-motor experience.

 These factors and the science behind them are outlined in my new book “What babies really need - how mothers and fathers can nurture children’s growth for health and well being” due to be published by Hawthorn Press, Stroud in the spring of 2008.  For further reading please see www.inpp.org.uk/publications/books.

Blog written by Sally Goddard Blythe 

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Cameron proposes children who fall behind in reading can repeat the final year at primary school - September 3, 2007

The Conservative Party’s new proposal to enable children who fail to reach government targets in literacy at the end of primary school to repeat the final year, is a move in the right direction.  However, greater flexibility is needed throughout the primary years, including at the time of school entry to enable children to maximise educational potential.

There are many reasons why a child might fail to reach literacy targets:  low intelligence, lack of environmental stimulation, frequent changes of school or teacher, school absences at stages in the learning process, sensory impairment, individual learning style not suited to the method  of teaching and even poor teaching, to name but a few.  Much will depend on the reason but also the stage during the primary years when the deficit began and the child failed to benefit from the teaching available.

One little recognised factor is the one of developmental readiness for formal education at the time of school entry.  Education in the UK at the time of writing uses the criterion of chronological age as the deciding factor when a child enters the school system and the accident of birth date will decide the child’s entire educational future.  There is a wide variation in children’s developmental readiness for formal learning and not every child is “ready” for school at rising 5 years of age.  Added to this are additional factors of month of birth, whether the child was born at or near the expected date of birth (premature or post mature) and gender.

Children who are born in the last 3 months of the academic year (June,July and August) are 9 - 11 months younger than their peers who were born in the September of each school year.  A difference of even 3 months at this dynamic stage of development can be the equivalent of a year’s difference later on.  Many of these children whose birthdays fall in the summer are at a disadvantage in terms of physical and neurological development.  Children who were born prematurely are at an even greater disadvantage in this respect.  The neurological clock ticks from the time of conception not from the time of birth. 

Boys are generally later than girls in developing the fine motor skills necessary for writing and speech.  They also tend to need more opportunity for gross motor acitivity in the early years.  Control of gross motor functions is important for being able to sit still, a precursor to maintaining attention and concentration in the classroom. 

Children who are forced into formal education before they are ready are placed at an educational disadvantage.  A flexible system is needed whereby there are at least 2 intakes a year at the time of school entry, and the opportunity to repeat a year once at any stage through the primary years. 

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